The family behind a well-known petrol station in the south of the island are stepping down after 34 years.

Station Garage in Castletown will close for several weeks for a major refit before reopening under Manx Petroleum’s retail services wing.

Owner Michael Owen - know as Mo - said it was time to move on.

‘We will be closing at the end of business on April 15, he said.

‘Manx Petroleum’s retail services are taking over on April 18 but it will remain closed for up to four weeks for a full refurbishment.

‘There are new petrol pumps going in, they are bringing the site right up to the latest spec. They are going to refit the shop so it will be a completely new set up.’

The family have been there 34 years, taking over in May 1992 from John Moon when it was only a small petrol station.

‘We’ve built it up from there,’ said Michael.

Mo’s family have always been involved in the petrol industry, his grandad working as a petrol tanker driver and his dad took over Tiger Tim’s on Douglas quayside.

He said businesses like his have seen massive changes over the years. ‘It’s getting harder and harder as a small business to survive’, he said.

But recent events, with fuel prices jumping 40p a litre due to the conflict in Iran, had not prompted the decision to step down, he insisted.

He said the fuel situation affects everyone but no steps had been taken to reduce the impact.

‘Have we got hundreds of people car sharing to save fuel? Has the government made the bus service free for just a couple of months to help out?’ he said.

Mo said he will be keeping busy with the Team Station Garage trials team and will be taking them on a few trips around Europe this year.

‘We still have people who come in here calling the garage Moon’s, hopefully when we go they will call it Station Garage Mo’s!’ he added.